AJR (band)

AJR
Background information
Origin New York City, New York, United States
Genres Indie pop
Years active 2006–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website www.ajrbrothers.com
Members Adam Met
Jack Met
Ryan Met

AJR is a New York City-based indie pop band composed of brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met. The band is a DIY pop group who write, produce, and mix their own material in the living room of their Chelsea apartment.[1] Their music style has been described as "eclectic", combining elements of pop, doo-wop, electronic, and dubstep.[2] They have opened for Demi Lovato, Fifth Harmony, Hoodie Allen, Lindsey Stirling, The Vamps, The Wanted, and Train (band).[3]

Music career

The Met brothers began performing around 2006, busking in Central Park and Washington Square Park. They began by performing covers,[2] but now compose original music influenced by musicians such as The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Vampire Weekend, and Fun.[4]

In Spring 2013, AJR's Ryan Met tweeted a link to a video of their song "I'm Ready" to about 80 celebrities, including Australian singer Sia Furler.[2] Furler told her manager about the song, and he contacted Steve Greenberg, former president of Columbia Records and current CEO and Founder of S-Curve Records.[5] He acts as their co-manager.[2]

AJR’s debut single, "I'm Ready", which features a sample of SpongeBob SquarePants repeatedly singing his catchphrase, "I'm ready," from the eponymous animated series' premiere episode, was commercially released on August 22, 2013.[6] The song was placed in regular rotation on Sirius XM Radio's Top 20 on 20 and Hits 1 stations,[5] and they performed the song on Good Day New York and VH1's "Big Morning Buzz."[7] The official music video for "I'm Ready" premiered on VEVO on October 15, 2013.[2][8]

AJR released their debut EP, "6foot1" (later renamed "I'm Ready"), on December 20, 2013. They were named Clear Channel's "Artist on the Rise" for the month of October 2013. By 2014, the band was already named IHeartRadio's Artist of the Month for Top 40 in January,[9] and a Myspace “One to Watch” in February,[10] while “I'm Ready” officially impacted pop radio in April. There are now over 10 million YouTube views for "I'm Ready," many thousands of singles sold each week, features in Billboard and the New York Post, while climbing the Top 40 chart. "I'm Ready" hit #1 on Next Big Sound's chart in May, 2014. The band performed the song on The Today Show (NBC) on July 29th, 2014 and made an appearance on Teenick Top 10 on August 15th, 2014. "I'm Ready" has been certified Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in Australia.

The band's second EP "Infinity" was released September 23, 2014. It contains 5 tracks, including the single "Infinity".[11] They released a lyric video for the single. A majority of the work for the video was done by AJR, including directing and producing.[12] The EP came out instead of their debut album, "Living Room" which was pushed back to a release date of March 3, 2015. The band expressed that the delay in their debut album was because they wanted to add some of their newer music to the project.[11] "Infinity" was performed on Live! With Kelly and Michael by the band on September 26th, 2014.

Members

(Born August 27th, 1990) Born and raised in New York City, Adam is 24 years old. He plays the bass guitar, and sings. Adam is a Columbia University graduate.

(Born August 16th, 1997) Jack is the youngest Met brother at the age of 17. On stage he plays guitar, melodica, ukulele, percussion, and sample machine. Jack is currently in high school and will graduate in 2015.

(Born March 3rd, 1994) At 21 years old, Ryan plays ukulele, keyboard, and sings. Ryan does most of the producing and he wrote and produced two songs for Andy Grammer.[13] He went to Columbia University for one year.

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
I'm Ready EP
  • Released: December 20, 2013
  • Label: AJR Productions, Liberator Music
  • Formats: Digital download
 —
Infinity EP
  • Released: September 23, 2014
  • Label: AJR Productions, Warner Bros. Records
 —
Living Room
  • Released: March 3, 2015
  • Label: Liberator Music, AJR Productions, Warner Bros. Records
  • Formats: Digital download
 —

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[14]		 AUS
[15]
"I'm Ready" 2013 65 5 Living Room

References

  1. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5720546/nyc-brother-trio-ajr-ready-for-stardom
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Miller, Gregory E. (15 October 2013). "Could AJR be the next Jonas Brothers?". New York Post.
  3. ↑ http://ajrbrothers.tumblr.com/post/81625025917/ajr-on-tour-with-lindsey-stirling
  4. ↑ "TeenNick Top 10 Fresh Artist Interview: AJR". Teen Nick.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hyman, Dan (24 September 2013). "NYC Brother Trio AJR 'Ready' for Stardom". Billboard.
  6. ↑ ""I'm Ready" on iTunes". Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  7. ↑ "AJR brothers perform 'I'm Ready'". MYFOXNY.COM. 17 October 2013.
  8. ↑ AJR (2013). I'm Ready (Music video). VEVO.
  9. ↑ http://news.iheart.com/onair/on-the-verge-52262/ajr-pop-artist-of-the-month-11952952/
  10. ↑ https://myspace.com/myspace/video/onetwowatch-ajr/109499883
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Frometa, RJ. "AJR move release of debut album "Living Room" to Feb. 2105, "Infinty" EP due 9/23". Vents. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  12. ↑ Wass, Mike. "AJR Return With Nostalgic New Single "Infinity": Watch The DIY Lyric Video (Idolator Premiere)". Idolator. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Ho, Rachel. "Interview: AJR". Musichel.com. Musichel. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "AJR – Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Discography AJR". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (November 1, 2014). "Ed Sheeran Tops ARIA Singles For Third Week". Noise11. Noise Network. Retrieved November 1, 2014.